Running Man Lyrics - 24 Carrots - Al Stewart

Before the phone hits the receiver 

You're halfway to the door 

The voice said 'get out while you can, 

There's just 1O minutes, nothing more' 

Time only for the essentials 

Better gather them and run 

The false name inside the passport, 

The gold bars and the gun 

And once again they've come out of the past 

And though your mind is cool your heart is beating fast 

You've been through it all before 

Each time you wish a little more that you could ask 

"What do you want from me? 

What do you need from me? 

There's no rest for the running man 

Why can't you let him be?' 

It's a long and twisting journey 

From the sweeping northern plains 

To the outcrops of the jungle 

Bowed beneath the tropic rains 

In the customs hall the officer 

Takes you to one side 

And his eyes reveal no feeling 

As you hand over the bribe 

And once again you've bought a little time 

And once again you're fading out of sight 

Still the fox is growing older 

As he calls over his shoulder to the night: 

"What do you want from me? 

What do you need from me? 

There's no rest for the running man 

Why can't you let him be?" 

Here, come over here 

Beneath a sympathetic moon 

We'll sit and talk over old times without a fear 

Another beer, from the cafes of the night 

The tumbling rhythms of guitars ring loud and clear 

One by one they've nailed the others 

But you always got away 

What it is that keeps you just that step ahead 

No one can say 

In one last raid the agents 

Of the dawn break down the door 

Of a house where you were standing 

Maybe just an hour before 

And still the thread continues to unwind 

You take the hidden roads that only you can find 

And should they come upon your tracks 

There's just a question hanging back you left behind 

"What do you want from me? 

What do you need from me? 

No rest for the running man 

Why can't you let him be?" 

"What do you want from me? 

What do you need from me?